PayPal helps ease THAI bookings for foreigners
THE NATION

 

Teerapol Chotichanapibal, Executive Vice President Commercial for Thai Airways, second left, and Rahul Shinghal, second right, General Manager for PayPal Southeast Asia.

 

BANGKOK: -- THROUGH a collaboration between PayPal and Thai Airways International (THAI), foreigners looking to travel to Thailand |or purchase tickets on www.thaiairways.com can now do so in a more convenient way through the global online payments company.

 

As part of the deal, travellers booking their Thai Airways tickets via PayPal will be credited with 1,500 miles directly into their Royal Orchid Plus account. 

 

To be eligible, participants must be among the first 1,000 travellers to book their trip on THAI’s international routes. They also need to be a member of THAI’s Royal Orchid programme.

 

The Thai national carrier adopted the PayPay channel last September.

 

For Thailand’s travel industry, according to PayPal, the opportunity lies in better serving the needs of the growing group of “connected travellers”, who expect a smooth online journey from the planning to the final booking of the trip. This is especially important for Thailand, a major tourist destination that has seen a steady increase in numbers since 1997 and which recorded an all-time high of over 30 million visitors in 2016. 

 

“The travel industry is rapidly changing, with more tourists looking to make their travel arrangements online, either through their laptops or their phones and tablets,” said Teerapol Chotichanapibal, THAI executive vice president. 

 

He said this was apparent through the integration of PayPal as a payment solution on THAI’s online platform, with the airline seeing increases in transaction volume from travellers from Germany (19 per cent), Italy (10 per cent) and the United States (5 per cent).

 

Rahul Shinghal, PayPal general manager for Southeast Asia, added: “Thailand is well known for its vibrant tourism industry. However, as travellers evolve, so must businesses. 

 

“Today’s digital traveller is demanding simplicity, convenience and trust when making travel bookings, and mobile is the way to go. If businesses can offer a simple and secure payment experience that allows travellers to make online bookings seamlessly anywhere they want, they are set for takeoff. 

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/business/corporate/30309221

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-03-16

 

PayPal is a good payment getaway but it cost you dearly as they charge

you the highest exchange rates on the market on your currency plus commissions, 

however, the benefit of paying with PayPal that your payment are secured and

you have someone to talk to incase something goes wrong with the service

or product you paid for....

Good idea! Now I can buy the most expensive air fare ticket in Thailand with an exchange rate that really sucks big time!

My European Paypal won't let me buy/ship anything to my address in BKK...I called them about it and they said Thailand is on the black list, too much fraud going on in Thailand without consequenses for the criminals.

 

Also my Bankcard is limited for Thailand since it's on the black list there as well. Now i even can't get money out of a Krungsri atm at all while i have a Mastercard with sufficient funds, other banks work fine.

 

Thailand is becoming a criminal country and will have to see the consequenses from that...Also stealing 220 baht for atm-use is pure theft, Malaysia and Singapore don't charge that.

 

And Thai air is far too expensive, i can fly in better planes/better service for half the price of Thai air....

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

Good idea! Now I can buy the most expensive air fare ticket in Thailand with an exchange rate that really sucks big time!

Not only that but you may also look forward to paying the reintroduced fuel surcharge on Thai tickets....from April 13th , if reports on Flyertalk are correct. If it's true it would underscore just how desperate Thai's financial position has become.

I sacked pay pal 2 years ago so now its good by to thai airways

51 minutes ago, Prbkk said:

Not only that but you may also look forward to paying the reintroduced fuel surcharge on Thai tickets....from April 13th , if reports on Flyertalk are correct. If it's true it would underscore just how desperate Thai's financial position has become.

Fuel surcharge? Do you mean the 500 Bath in a small window that we payed before, or have I missed something?

 

If that´s the case, then I will complain to PayPal and make then give me a better exchange rate! LOL (My latest invention is called Impossible Dreams)

Edited March 16, 20179 yr by Get Real

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

My European Paypal won't let me buy/ship anything to my address in BKK...I called them about it and they said Thailand is on the black list, too much fraud going on in Thailand without consequenses for the criminals.

 

Also my Bankcard is limited for Thailand since it's on the black list there as well. Now i even can't get money out of a Krungsri atm at all while i have a Mastercard with sufficient funds, other banks work fine.

 

Thailand is becoming a criminal country and will have to see the consequenses from that...Also stealing 220 baht for atm-use is pure theft, Malaysia and Singapore don't charge that.

 

And Thai air is far too expensive, i can fly in better planes/better service for half the price of Thai air....

Ever been thinking about changing to a real bank and get a working card?

Just now, Get Real said:

Fuel surcharge? Do you mean the 500 Bath in a small window that we payed before, or have I missed something?

 

If that´s the case, then I will complain to PayPal and make then give me a better exchange rate! LOL (My latest invention is called Impossible Dreams)

Reports on Flyertalk (unconfirmed) that Thai will reintroduce the fuel surcharge on international flights , effective April. This was the charge introduced during the high fuel prices about 10 years ago ( subsequently dropped). It was anything between about $40 , for short haul, and $120 long haul. Very few carriers charge it these days.

I recently used PayPal to buy our tickets to Bali. The check out procedure using PayPal was very smooth.

 

As i run an online business and 99% of the income  is processed via PayPal, i find it very convenient to now have this option as i wont have to transfer the Paypal funds to my bank first to use it.

There are several companies that are now offering PayPal as an alternative Payment method here in Thailand. The ones i use include Lazada, InvadeIT, ThaiAirAsiaGo   and some others.

 

Thanks THAI for this initiative i am sure it will result in increased sales  -- Those that dont use or don't like PayPal for some reason you still have the traditional payment options

3 hours ago, ezzra said:

 

PayPal is a good payment getaway but it cost you dearly as they charge

you the highest exchange rates on the market on your currency plus commissions, 

however, the benefit of paying with PayPal that your payment are secured and

you have someone to talk to incase something goes wrong with the service

or product you paid for....

not if you have a baht   Thai/Singapore  account  also  pay pal offers  a great backup/dispute service   yes may take a few days by e mail   but that is a 100pc better than  from  most Thai based companies   =no reply at all

8 minutes ago, Get Real said:

Ever been thinking about changing to a real bank and get a working card?

As you can read there's nothing wrong with my card or my bank...the card works fine with Bangkokbank but not with Krungsri, also in Malaysia it worked fine.

 

If Krungsri has the Mastercard logo printed on their ATM's than it has to work but it doesn't...oh well nothing works well in Thailand so add this one to the list as well. I even was thinking of taking a Krungsri account (since this bank is owned by Japan for 50% or so) but after all this i don't need them anymore. I went into their office, showed my creditcard and asked to withdraw cash on it but they wouldn't do so without my passport which was at home. They also wouldn't accept my european driverslicense as ID. All in all, very bad service from them!

 

My creditcardsupplier adviced me to NOT use the card in Thailand...also they had blocked my card to be used in Singapore (without telling me)...that was a nasty surprise when i tried to use it there.

I don't know why Singapore is on their black list as well but sure they will have good reasons for that...now my creditcard works in Singapore again but out of safety they blocked ALL creditcards to be used in Asia standard, unless the owner tells them to unblock it.

 

Lately i did about 10 online ebay-purchases with Paypal from China. (Paypal to Thailand ONLY works by Ebay) but 7 out of 10 packages never arrived in BKK and i got a refund by Paypal. This is not Paypals' fault though but from Thailand/China post.

 

Does your (American or Non-Thai) Paypal work when you order something to be delivered in  Thailand? Mine refuses to take the order when the selected country is Thailand.

 

 

4 minutes ago, royalmice said:

I recently used PayPal to buy our tickets to Bali. The check out procedure using PayPal was very smooth.

 

As i run an online business and 99% of the income  is processed via PayPal, i find it very convenient to now have this option as i wont have to transfer the Paypal funds to my bank first to use it.

There are several companies that are now offering PayPal as an alternative Payment method here in Thailand. The ones i use include Lazada, InvadeIT, ThaiAirAsiaGo   and some others.

 

Thanks THAI for this initiative i am sure it will result in increased sales  -- Those that dont use or don't like PayPal for some reason you still have the traditional payment options

Tip: Emirates air-tickets can also be bought online by Paypal...And they cost half the price of Thai air plus you'll get decent food in their planes...not those mini portions instant food from Thai.

Behind the times Thailand...Aeroflot has been allowing payment using paypal for at least 5 years! 

1 hour ago, fruitman said:

As you can read there's nothing wrong with my card or my bank...the card works fine with Bangkokbank but not with Krungsri, also in Malaysia it worked fine.

 

If Krungsri has the Mastercard logo printed on their ATM's than it has to work but it doesn't...oh well nothing works well in Thailand so add this one to the list as well. I even was thinking of taking a Krungsri account (since this bank is owned by Japan for 50% or so) but after all this i don't need them anymore. I went into their office, showed my creditcard and asked to withdraw cash on it but they wouldn't do so without my passport which was at home. They also wouldn't accept my european driverslicense as ID. All in all, very bad service from them!

 

My creditcardsupplier adviced me to NOT use the card in Thailand...also they had blocked my card to be used in Singapore (without telling me)...that was a nasty surprise when i tried to use it there.

I don't know why Singapore is on their black list as well but sure they will have good reasons for that...now my creditcard works in Singapore again but out of safety they blocked ALL creditcards to be used in Asia standard, unless the owner tells them to unblock it.

 

Lately i did about 10 online ebay-purchases with Paypal from China. (Paypal to Thailand ONLY works by Ebay) but 7 out of 10 packages never arrived in BKK and i got a refund by Paypal. This is not Paypals' fault though but from Thailand/China post.

 

Does your (American or Non-Thai) Paypal work when you order something to be delivered in  Thailand? Mine refuses to take the order when the selected country is Thailand.

 

 

I get it. Krungsri doesn´t work for you. Just one thing. If you wish to withdraw money in a bank from your card you will need your passport, due to that other id´s or cards are not valid identity outside the country they are issued in.

I actually do not know if it works with my Paypal account, due to that I always use a credit card for international purchase of goods sent to here. Only use Paypal to send money to bank account, purchase from Lazada and sometimes buy a service online. I can try to do it though, and give you a private mess how it worked tomorrow.

 

27 minutes ago, Get Real said:

I get it. Krungsri doesn´t work for you. Just one thing. If you wish to withdraw money in a bank from your card you will need your passport, due to that other id´s or cards are not valid identity outside the country they are issued in.

I actually do not know if it works with my Paypal account, due to that I always use a credit card for international purchase of goods sent to here. Only use Paypal to send money to bank account, purchase from Lazada and sometimes buy a service online. I can try to do it though, and give you a private mess how it worked tomorrow.

 

Just publish it here if your Paypal works in Thailand or not. So we can compare it with other forummembers.

 

I don't use my creditcard much since i need a special computer with that and it always asks me many (stupid) questions i don't know the answers to.  Paypal works much easyier than a creditcard.

Paypal doesnt work for goods, if the shipping address is a different country to the account address/billing address. 

 

 

Paypal itself is a major P I T A,  plus their "customer care" is abysmal and they are robbing you on currency conversion, hence they should be avoided altogether

They have so many great ideas!

My wife and I went to the head office to update our info for our Royal Orchid cards.  My wife happened to run into her friend that is an executive there.  She said to text her about our experience because she had a feeling it was not going to be good.

First, they ignored us.  Then, because we had the lowest level of account, they told us to do everything online and through email.  They just couldn't be bothered.  The prices are also double most other airlines.  Maybe they should team up with TAT?  That would be a winning combo!

2 hours ago, siam2007 said:

Paypal itself is a major P I T A,  plus their "customer care" is abysmal and they are robbing you on currency conversion, hence they should be avoided altogether

Add to that they have some kind of creepy religious thing going on. Management big on prayer meetings and the like. While I couldn't give a FF what they want for themselves, when they start to impose restrictions on what one can buy through PayPal, it becomes an issue.....for example, for a long time they would not process payments for e-juice ( for vaping), presumably on the basis of a moral objection. Now they permit it but I found another more convenient way to pay.

Off topic post temoved.

Quote

Today’s digital traveller is demanding simplicity, convenience and trust when making travel bookings, and mobile is the way to go. If businesses can offer a simple and secure payment experience that allows travellers to make online bookings seamlessly anywhere they want, they are set for takeoff. 

 

I've not always found Paypal to be simple and convenient.